Traveling by Bike

As you may have noticed, we are staying on the coast for a little while - our annual working vacation. This is something we've been doing at the end of every summer for the past six years. When we lived further North, we used to go to a place in Maine, and after moving to Boston we began staying on Cape Cod. I've been writing about that for the past two summers, and it's funny how over time our trips became increasingly bicycle-oriented. Two years agowe went by car as usual, but for the first time took bikes and cycled around a bit during our stay. Last summer we arrived by car again, but got around entirely by bicycle once there and attempted some high mileage day-trips. This summer we no longer have a car and really did not want to rent one just for the trip. So after discovering that Cape Ann was accessible by commuter rail, we decided to come here instead and do the whole trip on bikes. Another reason for choosing Cape Ann, is that it is a popular starting point for long rides up the coast of Northern New England. There are no decent routes north directly out of Boston, and what cyclists often do is take the commuter rail up here before proceeding north. So that was the plan: To arrive on our bicycles, to get around by bike, and to cycle up the coast as far and as often as possible in the course of our stay.



Our main challenge was figuring out how to transport our belongings. This is not a bicycle-specific trip, so we needed more than a change of cycling clothing and rain gear. We are living here for two weeks and doing all the same things we do at home - including work-related stuff. We needed our regular clothing and footwear, personal hygiene products, bedding, towels, laptops, a variety of electronic devises, some necessary books and documents, and our camera equipment - in addition to the cycling clothing, tool kits and raingear. And all of that we fit into the luggage you see here.



For a number of logistical reasons, we decided the most practical course of action would be to turn one person into the pack mule - and since I already had a front rack and a large handlebar bag on my bike, it made sense that this would be me. I had planned to eventually get a touring-specific rear rack for my Rivendell anyway, and so that is what I did. Between the two of us, we packed a total of five bags for the trip - four on my bike and one on the Co-Habitant's.



The rear rack on my bike is a Nitto Campee with removable lowrider panels, to which we attached a set of Carradice panniers, while using the rack's platform to support a Sackville SaddleSack. These bags plus the Carradicesaddlebag on the Co-Habitant's Surly contained our clothing, bedding and laptops. My Ostrich handlebar bag contained camera equipment, electronics and various other miscellaneous items. Everything was packed very tightly, and I estimate that my bicycle weighed around 100 lb when all was said and done.



The ride to the train station from our house is 4 miles through some of the busiest parts of the city. I have never ridden with my bike loaded up like this before, and the prospect of trying it for the first time in Boston traffic was nerve-wrecking. Overall, the bicycle handled fine. Once it got going, I could not feel the weight at all, and the heavy handlebar bag did not affect steering. But at very slow speeds - especially when starting and stopping - there was a fishtailing effect in the rear that took some getting used to. Also, with so much weight on the bike, the brakes were less effective than usual, which I had to keep in mind when stopping on a downhill. The frame itself had an interesting feel to it - as if it was "yielding" to the weight (mildly flexing?). The resulting ride quality was in some ways nicer than with the bicycle unloaded. Having survived this ride in traffic, loaded touring on the open road does not seem in the least daunting. Going slower than usual is, of course, a given - but the reduction in speed was not as drastic as I thought it might be. Even cycling uphill (which I got to experience once we arrived to Cape Ann and rode from the train station to the place we are staying!) was not as difficult as I expected. Thanks to a helpful reader after my description of our previous commuter rail experience, we were able to board the elusive bike train, which made the trip more pleasant still.

Once we arrived and settled in, we removed the lowrider panels from the rear rack, transforming my bike from a full-on pack-mule into a lighter ridethat could still carry food and equipment when necessary. I will write more about this particular rear rack in a separate post; it is pretty neat and versatile.



The place where we are staying is somewhere between a cabin and a shack on the architectural spectrum and is the size of a small garage. It is situated on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean, and there is a beach down the road. Despite the stormy weather, we love being here - just the two of us and our bikes. Yesterday the sun finally came out and we did a 50 mile "warm-up" ride, hoping for more soon. And it feels great that we were able to drag all of our stuff up here without needing a car. It was important to us that this did not feel like a compromise compared to the previous times we've gone away, and it most definitely does not. We were able to fit everything we need into our bicycle bags, and not having to deal with a car here feels extremely relaxing. I highly recommend giving traveling by bicycle a try!

FGS Conference - Some Thoughts

Overall I think the FGS Conference in Fort Wayne was one of the best organized that I have attended. The speakers were top notch and the selection of lectures was almost overwhelming. There are really only a couple of complaints I have, and I heard most of them from several other attendees as well.

1. The 2-hour break between the opening and the first lecture session on Thursday really was not necessary. In my opinion it was a waste of time. And I know of several people who did not attend Thursday morning because of that reason.
2. The 30 minute break between each session was the longest I've ever seen at any conference. Perhaps at another venue it would have been necessary but the rooms where the lectures were held were within a few minutes walk of each other. There were some lectures held at the library but it was still only about a 2-3 minute walk from the Grand Wayne Center. Fifteen minutes would have been more reasonable, twenty minutes at most.
3. The 2-hour lunch break was a bit much but I understand it was necessary because of the luncheons offered each day (each at $20 a pop, none of which I attended). It did give me a chance to browse some periodicals at the ACPL and I took a nap in my car on Friday ;-) so the time wasn't really wasted.
4. I've already mentioned the syllabus, which was 650 pages or so, and is a good resource. But something really needs to be done to offer it optionally in a different format. There are a number of ways it could be done to please those who still want a hard copy. A suggestion made by several people was to provide separate booklets for each day. Perhaps they could reduce the price of the conference for those that are willing to download it or even send a CD to early registrants before the conference. After the second day there were still a lot of people carrying the syllabus around and almost all that I saw had loose pages.

A video of a portion of the opening session of the Conference on Thursday morning is on Dick Eastman's blog. I'm in it ;-) That's my blond head you see in the center of the picture at the bottom of the frame. . . I was sitting in the fourth or fifth row, in front of the podium.

Dick Eastman attended the same session of the FootNote meeting that I did and took a couple of pictures. I'm in two of them though I don't know if he'll post them when he gets around to posting pictures of the conference on his blog. . .

Also attending the same FootNote meeting was Ceil Wendt Jensen. Now, I'm usually not one to go up and introduce myself but got up the nerve to do so this time and am glad I did. Ceil is very pleasant, congenial and easy to talk to. I mentioned that I'd heard of her through a recent post by Jasia (about the podcast Ceil did with Dear Myrtle). In the process I found out that I didn't know how to pronounce "Jasia" as I said it with a "J" which is actually pronounced as a "Y" and the "a" is more like "ah" so it's something like Yah-c-ah. I also discovered what Jasia's real first name is, but I'm not going to tell. . . I made the comment that I rather envy Ceil, Jasia and Steve since I consider myself an ethnically challenged researcher - one with no historical family traditions based on where my ancestors came from. The last of them came over so long ago (1832) that trace of any traditions that might have been have completely disappeared. Ceil suggested that I could become an honorary Pole...

While exploring the exhibit hall one day I had the opportunity to 'help' one of the vendors, who shall remain anonymous, with a slight technical problem he was having. I had stopped at the booth to introduce myself and he mentioned that his laptop had powered itself down after not being used for a while and it was not restarting as it should have. My suggestion was to see if it still had power. . . turns out the power cord had come unplugged from the power strip. He was a bit embarrassed that he hadn't already checked on that but we had a chuckle over it and I went on my way. I'm sure he would have figured it out eventually, but I was amused by the incident, but then I am easily amused.

For information on the lectures I attended, check out my previous posts on the conference:

• Genealogy Conferences (my contribution to the Carnival of Genealogy)
• FGS Conference - Day One (Wednesday)
• FGS Conference - Day Two (Thursday)
• FGS Conference - Day Three (Friday)
• FGS Conference - Day Four (Saturday)

Links outside this blog:

• opening session video on Dick Eastman's blog
• recent post by Jasia about the podcast Ceil Jensen did with Dear Myrtle
• Michigan Polonia which is Ceil Jensen's website, not to be missed if you are doing Polish research

Sunset

First impressions on a lwt twin rope comparison?

Asnew gear shows up it is interesting to make some quick observations and comparisons. Of course all this is unimportant if the newest gear doesn't suffice in field trials. You know...as in actual climbing?



I am still uneasy about going to a even thinner rope than my Beal Ice Twin @ 7.7mm and a actual weight of 5# 4.5 oz for a 60 rope. I've been using the Beal Ice Twinsfora few years now. 3 pairs in 6 years iirc. A new pair every 2 years on average seems about right for wear and tear used95% of the time on pure ice. Not a long life span even there. Add some nasty Canadian limestone and I would expect much less. A season at best I suspect. But then I never got much more than a season out of a 11mm single in Canada anyway. So some perspective is good.



My thought is none of these "skinny" ropes are a begiiner's tool. They are difficult to manage, and uncoil. Instant rat's nest more like it. Another acquired taste? Fragile? May be. Just the kind of stuff you really don't want to be worried about amid a hard lead. But well worth the extra effort once on route has always been my thought.



I have several new twin ropes to test and compare to my well know Beal products.



The first is the Edelrid Flycatcher, @ 6.9mm. 4# 14oz for a 60m rope.



You need two ropes so the Flycatcher reduces the weight by 6.5oz per rope times2 or 13oz for the pair. 13 oz. is getting close to a full pound or an actual 368g savings for the pair.



I have always liked how the Beal handled. One of the reasons I have continued to use them season after season. But I'll admit that I generally prefer a stiffer rope in hand. The Edelrid Flycatcher is indeed a stiffer handling rope. I can't offer an opinion either way how that will reflect on the ropeas ofyet. But it looks promising. Either way it is going to be a change that I suspect I'll notice quickly one way or the other.











A brand new Flycatcher has a "stiff hand"




A lightlyused (2 easy days on ice) Beal Ice Twin with a rather "soft hand"





I have no doubt the Beal Ice Twin ( any skinny rope?) deserves a better belay device. I found the BD versions woefully lacking on steep rappels. The Petzl just marginally betterand more usable. But enough to change belay devices with the Beal 7.7 and use the Petzl. The Flycatcher comes packaged with its own belay device specifically designed for the 6.9mm diameter. Again, more to come after I and my partners have used the rope and the belay plate. Nice to know soemone else has been thinking about this stuff as a "full rope system".



At the moment a 13oz drop in weight for a pair of twins seems to be a good improvement. I am as interested as anyone to see if I continue to think that way.



A heads up?

I wouldn't use any of these ropes as a single. The CT cover photo at the moment is on the Eiger. We used a singlestrand of 9mm double rope in that picture.Seemed just fine at the time. It felt much like a Joker 9.1 does today. Although that 9mm was no wherenear as nice a rope as the current Joker. My thought is the ropes I am talking about here...under 8mm.....are not a light weight alpinist's "single" rope. That topic deserves a totally differentdiscussion.

On this holiday, please take just a moment...

to remember... those who gave their lives, those who served, and those still serving today...

The White House Commission on Remembrance (website at http://www.remember.gov/ ) is an independent government agency whose missions include:

• Promoting the spirit of unity and remembrance through observance of The National Moment of Remembrance at 3 PM local time on Memorial Day
• Ensuring the nation remembers the sacrifices of America's fallen from the Revolutionary War to the present
• Recognizing those who served and those who continue to serve our great nation and reminding all Americans of their common heritage

Source of image: a t-shirt for sale and hopefully I won't be sued for copyright infringement for using it… but I couldn't resist, it's such a neat graphic.

And now, a shameless plug for a past post on The Veterans in My Family. That post includes links to other posts on some of the veterans that I've written about.

Low Trail Madness

While I've wished for this to happen, I doubted that it actually would: Low trail, 650B bicycles entering into standard production. But the day has arrived, and it arrived with an email from Soma Fabrications. An e-buddy of mine over there informs me that they will soon release a "Grand Randonneur" model, co-designed with Boulder Bicycles/Rene Herse."Is this public knowledge?" I asked, wiping the spray of coffee off my keyboard. Not really, was the reply, but I was welcome to make it such. "Just note that it’s still unofficial, and some of the details may change before production." Noted. Oh, and do I want to test-ride the prototype once it's ready? As if they had to ask.




The Soma announcement came on the heels of Rawland's release of the Stag: a model similar to the Nordavinden, only with slightly different specs. The pre-order pricetag is $625 including a free set of Pacenti PL23 rims. I imagine Soma will try to get its pricepoint in the same range. Adding the $500 Velo Orange Polyvalentto the mix, that gives us 3 manufacturers offering standard production low trail 650B framesets, made in Taiwan, for well under $1,000.




For those who prefer a US-made bike, there are several pre-fab models available in the $1,500 range, including the Box Dog Pelican, the Boulder Randonneur, and most recently the Rambler from Ocean Air Cycles.If you've ever wanted to try a bike like this without the wait, uncertainty and pricetag of going full custom, there are options.






But speaking of custom, more and more framebuilders are testing the waters with low trail 650B designs and some of the names may surprise you. As I write this, I am eying a fresh-off-the-boat prototype frameset from Mercian Cycles in England that was built to my spec. (For the record, they are skeptical of the low trail design, so if the bike doesn't ride well I take full responsibility.) Equally surprising is that Seven Cyclesare willing to give it a go, in titanium of course. Jokingly I asked them about it a little while ago, and the reply was "Let's talk."




So what's so special about low trail? In a sense, nothing, and that's sort of the point. Some of us simply believe it to be a "normal" geometry just like any other that happens to be useful in some contexts and beneficial for some riders. This does not mean that it's special or better, but only that we feel it ought to exist as a viable option. Personally, I've come to appreciate the feel of low trail on city bikes, as well as on fat tire bikes ridden on dirt; the combination of how responsive and at the same time intuitive these bikes feel intrigues me. But of course not everyone agrees. The husband tolerates low trail on his Brompton, because he finds the bike handy, but dislikes it on roadbikes. And framebuilder Mike Flanigan - tempted to try the Rawland after I raved about its handling - just smiled and shook his head after his ride: "Nope, still don't like low trail" - though he's made a few for customers, and continues to do so.




Is low trail design a fad that will seem silly in hindsight, or an enduring trend that is here to stay? We'll just have to wait and see.

Hay Delivery

Belt Driving Impressions

I've wanted to try a bicycle with a belt drive for some time, but they are not exactly mainstream around these parts. So when I saw a belt driveSevenCafe Racer in my size at theRide Studio Cafelast week, I seized the opportunity and took it out for a ride. The belt drive Cafe Racer is a single speed version ofthis bike, one ofSeven's commuter models. I will save my impressions of the bicycle itself for a different post, focusing for now on my impressions of this unique drivetrain.




The belt drive is a product called theGates Carbon Drive-a polyurethane belt that replaces a traditional bicycle chain. Unlike a bicycle chain, the belt does not need to be oiled or otherwise maintained, which also means that it won't get the cyclist's clothing dirty. It is said to be longer lasting than a traditional chain. And it is silent. For these reasons, many praise the belt drive as a revolutionary innovation in cycling - particularly cycling for transportation.





On the downside, the belt drive requires a dedicated split-frame construction; it cannot just be retrofitted on any old bike. This is because the belt itself, unlike a traditional bicycle chain, cannot be split apart. In the picture above you can see that the seatstay of the Seven frame disconnects from the dropouts to make the belt installation possible (and that is a Surly Tuggnut chain tensioner they are using, in case you are wondering).





The belt's unique groove structure also requires it to be used with belt drive-specific front and rear pulleys instead of traditional chainrings and rear cogs. It is, however, compatible with standard cranks and hubs. The drive can be used with single speed and internally geared hubs, but not with derailleur drivetrains. As I understand it, it can be used with fixed gear and coaster brake bikes, as long as hand-activated brakes are present.





I rode thebelt drive Cafe Racer for 5 miles or so along the Minuteman Trail in Lexington and Bedford MA. Compared to a traditional chain, the belt felt smoother and "softer." It was a neat sensation, distinctly different from cycling with a normal drivetrain. On first impression, I would say that it felt nicer. Although some describe the belt as silent, I would not say that exactly. It was definitely quieter than even the quietest traditional chain. But it made a gentle "swooshing" sound that I could hear whenever my surroundings grew silent. Additionally, I am pretty sure that I could feel something happen in the drivetrain at the end of every crank rotation. It was the subtlest of sensations, but definitely there. It was almost as if the belt had a seam in it, and I could feel when that seam went over one of the pulleys.




To be clear, neither the "seam" nor "swooshing" were something I would have noticed, had I not been intentionally paying very close attention and trying to take in every single aspect of the belt drive experience. They were more like ghostly traces than full-fledged sensations.






Prior to trying the belt drive myself, I'd read and heard a number of impressions from others. Alan from ecovelo is probably the "king" of belt drive test rides; he has tried at least half a dozen different bikes with this system and loves it. On one of his personal bikes, the belt drive has worked reliably for him for some time. Others (including commentators on ecovelo posts and persons I've spoken to locally) have reported a number of issues, such as squeaking noises, the belt slipping, and the system performing sub-optimally in winter conditions. I think that in order to get the big picture of how the belt drive performs, we need to wait until more cyclists use it for considerable periods of time, in different climates and weather conditions, and on a variety of bikes.



Next month I will be receiving another bicycle for a long term test ride that also happens to have a belt drive. No doubt I will have more to say after a few weeks of real-world experience with the system; maybe it will even start snowing by then. In the meantime, I am glad to have tried it on a different bicycle first - having done so will allow me to separate the feel of the belt itself from the feel of the specific bike. As far as first impressions go, mine are positive and I would love to see a classic city bicycle fitted with the GatesCarbon Drive... speaking of which, why do we never see that? The belt drive seems best suited for everyday commuting, yet most bicycles I see fitted with it are "weird" and "techy," if you'll pardon that biased terminology. An elegant belt drive city bicycle would be a delight to try.

It's Electric! A Case of Fear and Loathing?

Every once in a while I am asked why I do not write about electric bikes, and the answer is simple: because they do not interest me. Maybe in 40 years they will, but at the moment I do not find myself longing for a sweet e-assist ride. Still, I have nothing against electric bikes and their usefulness is readily apparent to me: cargo bikes and pedicabs, upright bikes in truly hilly areas, and bikes with assistance for the elderly and others who have a hard time pedaling on their own power. What's not to like?




Yesterday I was cycling across town and a middle-aged man on an e-bike was pedaling in the bike lane just ahead of me. He was going pretty slowly, so I passed him, not giving it a second thought. Then behind me I heard another cyclist passing him, and then I heard that cyclist shout: "Get the f- out of the bike lane you retard!" There was more, and the abuse was directed toward him riding an e-bike - which the regular cyclist did not feel belonged in the bike lane. That was not the first time I'd heard this sentiment. From Interbike last year, I know that the e-bike industry is trying hard to push e-assist onto the cycling market, and I also know that there is resistance among those who see e-bikes as a threat to "real cycling." But I figured meanies will be meanies and soon forgot about the shouting incident.




Then this morning, I saw a link to this articlein the Gothamist, debating whether a $1000 fine for riding an e-bike was overkill (the previous amount was $500). I had not even known that e-bikes were illegal in NYC, but apparently they are. It is illegal to ride them and it is illegal for bike shops to sell them. And now the city is considering a serious crack-down, because the food delivery guys on their "souped up" bikes are out of control, terrorising the peaceful citizens by going as fast as 30mph.




What bothers me about the NYC situation is not specific to e-bikes. It's that instead of the government regulating public behaviour with strictly enforced laws, perfectly useful objects are criminalised. 30mph is a speed that any decent roadie can hit on their racing bike without the help of e-assist. Yet racing bikes are not outlawed in NYC as far as I know. If speed-demon delivery boys are causing problems, set and enforce a speed limit. But the blanket targeting of e-bikes is not logical. When posting a link to the Gothamist article, abicycle blogger wrote: "NYC is flat and small enough that no one needs an e-bike here. Ever." What she means of course, is that she does not feel the need for an e-bike in NYC. Neither do I in Boston. But that line of thinking can just as well be applied to us by others. "Nobody needs to be riding a bike on the road!" is something I've heard too many times. The fear and loathing of e-bikes is just as irrational.




If we're going to outlaw stuff, I personally would like to see a law for motor vehicles to be stripped of doors, since doorings are responsible for countless cyclist injuries and deaths in cities. Make car doors illegal and problem solved. Maybe NYC should get on that.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

A good deal of my time so far this summer has been consumed with scanning pictures and preparing pictures for scanning. On June 2nd I reported that another 970 pictures had been scanned since mid-May, plus the 575 pictures of mom's that had been scanned in April.

For the heck of it, I decided to keep track of how much time was spent in scanning. In hindsight I probably should have tracked how much time was spent in preparing the pictures for scanning as well. Once I started on the magnetic albums, it's highly likely that as much time was spent in prep as in actual scanning.

The prep work consisted of removing the pictures from the albums, sorting them into the order in which they were to be scanned, then attaching them to archival paper. After fiddling with trying to put multiple pictures on the scanner bed and getting irritated with them moving when the cover was lowered (due to static), I decided to put the pictures on the pages where I wanted them, add captions as needed, then individually scan the pictures along with their corresponding captions. Too bad I didn't think of that when I was scanning mom's first album. Something to keep in mind for the next one!

Out of the past 48 days, scanning was done on 21 of them, usually 2-3 hours a day but occasionally 4 hours. One day I was on a roll and spent 6 hours scanning! I'm not totally crazy, it wasn't all at one sitting. I did get up a few times to stretch my legs and grab a bite to eat. And yes, I washed my hands after eating and before handling the pictures! Anyway, a total of 70 hours of scanning in 21 days netted another 2278 images. That's an average of 3.3 hours and 108.5 images per day.

That takes care of my personal albums. There are still a few more of Mom's to do. Next up will be the genealogy documents. But, they too need to be sorted prior to scanning. I've mentioned before that with my filing system I put documents of the same type together, regardless of who they are for, whether an ancestor or other relative, giving each document a number. I could find them easily because of the numbering system and the fact that when something was entered in my database the document number was entered for reference, so all I needed to do was look up the person in the database to see where the document was filed. But that system isn't really intuitive and I need to make it easier for whomever will take over my research (assuming there is a family member who wants it or in case it gets donated to a library or society). So that means sorting and putting the documents together for a given person or family. I haven't decided yet whether I'll scan "everything" or just the ancestral documents. "Everything" includes a lot. I think, after I've sorted through stuff I'll do the ancestors first and save the rest for another time. I want to get back to researching! And doing other things. But at the least, I want to get the ancestor documents scanned.

There may not yet be light at the end of the tunnel, but it will be there one day. Soon, I hope.

The picture below was taken in September 1978 while I was stationed in Japan. Above the Clouds. Sunrise from the top of Mt. Fuji. There is a story to tell that goes along with the picture, but it'll have to wait for another time.

Photo Copyright © 1978/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Horse Collection

As a little girl I always wanted a horse but couldn't have one. So I took to collecting model horses. Since my dad was in the Air Force we moved around a lot and when we moved my parents would try to see all the sights in the new town. Of course my sisters and I would want to buy souvenirs each time we went to a different park, tourist attraction, or any where there was a gift shop. I started by model horses, pictures, even postcards as my souvenirs and even kept a written record of the description of the horse, where I bought it, and gave each model horse a name. The two matching rubber horses were a team that came with a wagon that I got when I was about three years old. The white horse with saddle was always one of my favorites. The following posts are some photos of different horses in my collection. A few weeks ago I took a count, then repacked them and put most of them away in the plastic container they live in now since I don't have a display case to put them in, or room for that big a display case in my small house. There were over 30 of the small china horses, no more than 3 inches tall. There were more that were 5 to 8 inches tall. There are some that are hard plastic, some that are a metal, a few that are rubber, and a couple that are wood. Most are still not worth anything even though some of them are getting some age on them. Not all are horses, there are about a dozen donkeys and mules and a couple of zebras. I do have a few of the well-known Breyer horses but couldn't dig them out of hiding for easily to take there photo on the day I took the ones shown here. In all I figure there are about 120 models, plus all the stuffed horses, pictures, postcards, and a few other horse related items. As a child this collection of horses ment everything to me.
Now they don't mean much at all. Those five real horse and ponies out in their pens in my yard are the ones that mean a lot to me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Everyone here at the Tumbleweed Crossing wants to wish everyone anywhere a Happy Thanksgiving.

Wordless Wednesday :: Once Upon a Time

a few years ago...

Tumbleweed

Even after all that snow we found a tumbleweed hanging on the fence. There was a sunset the night of the 30th that was really nice. But anywhere I try to take a photo of a sunset from my property there is always someone elses house. This one is across the street from us. And our street happens to be a dirt road.

Heat wave and route condition updates

The temperatures at Paradise hovered in the high 70's all day today while Camp Muir fixated in the mid-50's. For the past couple of days it's been VERY warm, and those trends are going to continue. This sort of news is great for sunbathing but not so great for the snowpack.

There has been quite a bit of upper-mountain action over the past week. Dan McCann of UT recently ripped the Disappointment Cleaver on tele-boards (see that line in the lower center of this photo? It's his!). And rumor has it, some gnarly NW skiers are headed for the Mowich Face this weekend!

More climbing updates can be found on the Emmons, DC and Ptarmigan Ridge routes. As for the Emmons, there was some interesting action on the Inter Glacier approach, proving that you could be killed while hiking to high camp! In other words, be "heads up" for the possibility of massive rockfall and snowslides. [Ed.: stratovolcanoes are "geologic junkpiles]

In other photographic news, Eric Simonson, with Paul Baugher piloting the airplane, provided the aerial image of the upper DC , Ingraham and Emmons. Climbing ranger Stoney Richards took a number of GREAT route images on the following lines: Gib Ledges and Gib Chute, Ptarmigan Ridge, Mowich Face and South Tahoma Headwall. Check them out in the updated route reports!

Gunks Routes: Phoebe (5.10b)

(Image taken by Anthony Baraff; I swiped it from mountainproject.com.)

I tried Phoebe the other day on top-rope and I have to say it is a nice little climb. It made Gunks 5.10b seem like a realistic possibility for the future, although I can't say I got the thing clean. My partner L. was able to do it clean on top-rope on her second try. I could do all the moves but I wasn't able to put it together without a hang. Maybe next time. Probably. Definitely.

The climb has two cruxes, one low, one high. The low one requires a right foot high-step while your left hand is pulling down on a mediocre crimp and your right is on a mediocre crimpy sidepull. The kid climber in the photo above is above the low crux; her body is hiding the bolt in the middle of the face.

The high crux comes after you move past the bolt to the tiny overhang above. You have to gently move right on poor, smeary feet and then step up to grab the undercling hold in the next small overhang. Then it's all pretty straightforward to the top.

I would like to say that I'd consider leading Phoebe one day after working the moves a bit more... but I don't think it'll ever happen as I don't see how you protect the upper crux. You could definitely get a cam in the undercling right AFTER the crux, but if you blew it on the smeary feet with only the bolt clipped beneath you, you'd almost certainly hit the block at the base.

So I think it will always remain a top-rope climb for me but I found it surprisingly enjoyable. it is certainly worth doing after a warm-up on the wonderful Ken's Crack (5.7). The setup only takes a few minutes; there is a wedged block at the top around which you can thread a cordalette; I also placed two cams in nearby cracks for a three-piece anchor. Next time I'd like to go back and try Charie (5.10a) and Fitschen's Folly (5.8R), both of which are easily set up using a couple of trees at the top of Charie, just a few feet to the right of Phoebe.

Tombstone Tuesday :: William & Sophia Wise

WILLIAM P. / 1852-1935 / SOPHIA E. / 1850-1916 / WISE
William and Sophia (Dunfee) Wise are my 2nd great grandparents. They are buried in Scott-Keister Cemetery in Etna-Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana alongside three of their four children as well as several grandchildren. Photograph taken July 14, ...

Peak-a-boo-Rose

Making Fruit boots for hard mixed climbing?

Now is a good time to put some thought into Fruit boots if it is something that interests you for next winter's mixedseason.













I'll have a review on the newest Boreal Ice Mutantmodel later on as fall approaches and the temps drop.









But nothing like thinking ahead. The fun I was havingin myhome made pair is why I searched out a commercial pair. One caution? You'll want your boot crampon combo to come in at around 2# total per foot to really take advantage of a lwt technical combo. BD raptors come in at 10oz per foot. That leaves you with 22oz per boot before you bolt the cramponon. More than one climberis just using the front half of the crampon so that candrop some weight as well.



http://bigfootmountainguides.com//03/03/how-to-make-mixed-climbing-boots/







http://climbs2high.blogspot.com//11/new-project-fruit-boots.html







http://rockandice.com/articles/how-to-climb/article/359-make-fruit-boots-do-it-yourself-crampons